Arthur Nutter Thomas (11 December 1869 – 10 April 1954), commonly referred to as Dr Nutter Thomas or A. Nutter Thomas, was the
Anglican Bishop of Adelaide
The Anglican Diocese of Adelaide is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia. It is centred in the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia and extends along the eastern shore of the Gulf St Vincent from the town of Eudunda in the ...
, South Australia, from 1906 to 1940.
Early life
Nutter Thomas was born in
Hackney, London
Hackney is a district in East London, England, forming around two-thirds of the area of the modern London Borough of Hackney, to which it gives its name. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross and includes part of the Queen E ...
, to Charles James Thomas and his wife Mary Matilda Thomas, née Nutter.
He was educated at
Pembroke College of the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
and was awarded a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in 1893, a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in 1895 and a
Doctor of Divinity
A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity.
In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...
degree in 1906. He was made deacon on 20 May 1894, by
Walsham How,
Bishop of Wakefield
The Bishop of Wakefield is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. The title was first created for a Diocese, diocesan Anglican minist ...
, at
Wakefield Cathedral
Wakefield Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of All Saints in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, is a co-equal Anglican cathedral with Bradford and Ripon Cathedrals, in the Diocese of Leeds and a seat of the Bishop of Leeds. Originally the pa ...
; ordained priest the following year; and consecrated a bishop on
Candlemas
Candlemas (also spelled Candlemass), also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian holiday commemorating the presentati ...
1906 (2 February) at
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
, by
Randall Davidson,
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
. He arrived in South Australia two months later with his wife. On retirement he had spent over 34 years as a bishop, the longest for an
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
bishop in Australia at that time.
[
Thomas's episcopacy as Bishop of Adelaide was contemporaneous with the 40-year incumbency at St George's Church, Goodwood of Canon Percy Wise, with whom he had a long and frosty relationship, Thomas being a traditional Anglican, a follower of the ]Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
, and Wise being radically Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches.
The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...
.
Family
Nutter Thomas married Mary Theodora Lewis before leaving England. They had two daughters and a son, all born at Bishop's Court, North Adelaide.
*Ursula Nutter Thomas (10 January 1908 – ) married the Rev. William C. S. Johnson on 20 April 1937
*M(ary) Katherine Nutter Thomas (16 August 1910 – ) married the Rt Rev. Hubert Baddeley on 13 November 1935. He was Bishop of Melanesia The Archbishop of Melanesia is the spiritual head of the Church of the Province of Melanesia, which is a province of the Anglican Communion in the South Pacific region, covering the nations of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. From 1861 until the inaugu ...
from 1932 to 1947.
*Christopher Nutter Thomas (11 July 1912 – ) was appointed curate to the Rev. F. E. Thornton, at Holy Trinity Church, Kew, Victoria
Kew (;) is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 5 km east from Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara Local government areas of Victor ...
, in 1946.
References
Further reading
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Arthur Nutter
1869 births
1954 deaths
20th-century Anglican bishops in Australia
Anglican bishops of Adelaide